Anode replacement
Just curious as to how long the water heater(Suburban) would last if the anode were to be replace with a plug like Atwood uses. Not planning on doing this but would be nice to know if needed in an emergency.
Forum Discussion
6 Replies
wildtoad wrote:
What kind of emergency would require you to put in a plug? The only thing that comes to mind is you take the old anode rod out and lose it.
YEP, take it out it looks bad put it back in. Now go to AMAZON and have a new one in a day or two or go to the local RV store. EZ-PZ.- What kind of emergency would require you to put in a plug? The only thing that comes to mind is you take the old anode rod out and lose it.
- Suburban recommends that the tank be drained when not in use. If you follow that recommendation, the anode rod will last indefinitely. If you park it and leave water in it, the anode rod won't last long. You'll more than likely end up with a rotten egg smelling tank of water that's very hard to flush out and get rid of the smell.
- Keep an extra anode on hand. Check every year. I am going on my 4th year full time on same anode.
- There are five to six penetrations in the water heater tank. Each penetration has steel threads. The area immediately surrounding the threads is unprotected by the porcelain lining of the tank. Each one of these connections has an item threaded into it which has metal that may react with the steel body of tank, especially around that threaded penetration including the threads.
Penetrations are for the water heater cold water inlet, the hot water Outlet, the outlet for the drain plug / anode rod, the relief valve Outlet, the gas control / temperature sensor. There may also be a electric heating element which is screwed into the tank.
All of these require protection by the anode rod. I have a Suburban water heater that was leaking through the gas control which also has a copper thermometer well that extends into the tank for the temperature sensor. I personally wouldn't go more than a few weeks without installing a new anode. - If in an emergency no problem. A few months would not be an issue.The anode is there so the chemicals attack it instead of the steel lining IF the glass lining had a crack exposing the steal and allowing it to rust. This process takes time.BUT, I see no reason to do it. Just leave the old wore out anode in place until you replace it.
